ARCHIVES RECEIVE ACCREDITATION AWARD

A small Scottish local authority archive service, a higher education archive in Swansea, a large business archive in England and The National Archives have reached the new quality standard for archive services

The UK Archive Service Accreditation Committee announced today that it has accredited four archive services across the UK.

The newly Accredited Archive Services, which include the first ever accredited services in Scotland and Wales, showed they had reached national standards relating to the long-term collection, preservation and accessibility of the nation’s archive heritage. They were also recognised for their good performance in all aspects of governance, management and resourcing as well as the care of their unique collections and the service they offer to their entire range of users.

Chair of the Archive Service Accreditation Committee, Bruce Jackson said:

"These awards are a tangible recognition of the sector’s successes at preserving and making accessible the nation’s archive heritage. All of the services should be proud of themselves, and of the difference they have made to people, communities and businesses across England, Scotland and Wales."

Archive Service Accreditation, the UK-wide standards scheme for the archives sector, was established in 2013 to celebrate and recognise good practice, identify agreed standards and also encourage and support development across archive services in the UK.

The four accredited services are:

- **Falkirk Archives** – the first accredited service in Scotland is a small local authority archive service documenting the rich variety of life in its local area.

- **Richard Burton Archives, University of Swansea** – the first accredited service in Wales, is a small higher education archive with strong specialist collections including Welsh writers in English, business archives of the metal and engineering industries in Swansea and the papers of the renowned stage and screen actor Richard Burton.

- **Unilever Archives and Records Management** – a major business archive documenting the work and development of a key international corporation.

- **The National Archives** – participating in the UK archive standards scheme for the first time, it is the first national archive to achieve accredited status.

**Welcoming the award to The National Archives, Acting Chief Executive Clem Brohier** said:

"We see the Archive Service Accreditation programme as a key part of supporting the diversity and health of the UK archives sector. As sector leaders for England, it was important to us to participate fully in Accreditation from the outset. We are delighted that the Accreditation Committee has recognised our successful delivery at a national level."

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For interview requests, contact The National Archives’ press office on 0208 392 5277 or e-mail Angela.Owusu@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk

**Notes to Editors**

Archive Service Accreditation has been developed in partnership with the archive sector and its stakeholders and is supported by a UK partnership of the Archives and Records Association (UK & Ireland), Archives and Records Council Wales, The Welsh Government through CyMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, National Records of Scotland, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Scottish Council on Archives, and The National Archives. The assessor body for Archive Service Accreditation for archives services in England is The National Archives. For more information see [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/accreditation](http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/accreditation)

The National Archives was assessed by representatives of two other national assessor bodies, the Scottish Council on Archives and Public Record Office of Northern Ireland as well as peer reviewers from the wider archive sector. All awards are agreed by a Panel drawn from representatives of the Archive Service Accreditation Committee. Archive Service Accreditation

- Archive Service Accreditation is the UK standard for Archive Services. It defines good practice and identifies agreed standards, thereby encouraging and supporting development.
- Archive Service Accreditation is managed by the Archive Service Accreditation Committee. The committee comprises nominated members from the UK partnership and experienced archive professionals of high regard with sector peers and who have been recruited through open competition.
- It replaces The National Archives’ Standard for Record Repositories and its self-assessment programme for local authority archives in England and Wales.
- Designed to dovetail with other closely related frameworks and standards already in use in the archive, museum and library sectors.

Accredited archive services are:

- Externally recognised for their good performance in all aspects of service delivery
- Sustainable and robust, ensuring the long term acquisition, preservation and accessibility of our archive heritage
- Clear about their mission, ensuring effective planning, decision making and optimal use of resources
- Responsive to all their stakeholders and trusted in the management of their unique collections

About The National Archives

For the record, for good…The National Archives is a government department and an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). As the official archive of the UK government and England and Wales, The National Archives looks after and makes available to the public a collection of historical records dating back over 1,000 years, including records as diverse as Domesday Book and MI5 files.

Our 21st-century role is to collect and secure the future of the record, both digital and physical, to preserve it for generations to come, and to make it as accessible as possible. The National Archives do this by devising technological solutions to ensure the long-term survival of public records and working to widen access to our collection. It also advises on information management across government, publishes all UK legislation, manages Crown copyright and leads the archive sector. Since 2011, The National Archives has had responsibility for leading in the development of the archive sector in England.

www.nationalarchives.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk